Ashes and Vows (One Wild Ride 'Verse)
by fragrantfields
Summary: Set in the AU of OWR: A few weeks after the Cylon attack, life on the hijacked Galactica settles into a quasi-military routine not that different from life in an outlaw MC. Tauron Outlaws VP Lee Adama &his Old Lady, Kara Thrace begin the transfer of their biker skills to Viper runs. Kara remains tops in evasive maneuvers until she hits an unexpected snag that throws her off course.


Summary: A few weeks after the Cylon attack, life on the hijacked _Galactica _settles into a quasi-military routine not all that different from life in an outlaw MC. Tauron Outlaws VP Lee Adama and his Old Lady, Kara Thrace begin the transfer of their biker skills to Viper runs. Kara remains tops in evasive maneuvers until she hits an unexpected snag that throws her off course.

A/N: Apparently 150k words weren't enough...a one-shot post-OWR fic for **lanalucy**'s wishlist, and anyone else who ships K/L. A million thanks to **bsg_checkin** for their support and **bsg_epics** for the wishlist inspiration

_Things got bad and things got worse...Looks like they took my friends_

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Kara's eyes were wide, her gaze unfocused. It only lasted a split second, if that, but it gave enough warning for Lee to shoot his arm out, offering his stability. He wasn't surprised when she blinked hard twice, looked down at his arm and shoved it away.

"I'm fine, Lee. I just wanted to try out a maneuver some of the real pilots were talking about last night."

He looked at the readout by the simulator. "Looks pretty good to me. You maybe need a little more pressure here-" he tapped at the image of where the right thruster control would be on a real Viper "-but your correction was on the mark."

She stepped out of the simulator and looked over his shoulder at the read-out. "Hmm...maybe. Still made the flip in time to blow the frakker away."

Lee arched his eyebrow and made a show of studying her. Flushed cheeks, eyes bright, grin irrepressible.

She looked the same way after a really good frak.

He shrugged. Kara liked speed and she loved blowing shit up. Her natural abilities had been a blessing to the stressed-out second-year junior officer who was trying to act as CAG. That she had some pilot experience had been the icing on the cake. He'd barely asked the question before Kara was holding out her hand for the simulator codes.

"You love this, don't you? Fixing your target, knowing you're gonna make the shot, seeing it blow apart...feeling your teeth rattle from the g-force." He brushed a wisp of hair back from her temple. "You were meant for this." He leaned in for a kiss.

"That makes it sound like I'm happy we're in the middle of a war. Pretty frakked up, Lee, even for you." She turned her head and his lips touched her cheek. There was something about her eyes...Holy frak-Kara Thrace was...well, maybe not exactly crying, but there was a tell-tale shimmer, a hint of tear that hadn't been there before.

"I'm getting some rack time before my shift starts." She headed for the door, barely pausing, and threw a quick "You coming, or what?" over her shoulder. Lee shook his head. She'd been so happy after beating the simulator. He wasn't sure what had flipped her mood, but he knew better than to ask her straight out. His steps matched hers as they strode down the corridor.

One thing about Kara, he mused. She never held her feelings in for very long.

He glanced at her again from the corner of his eye. She was gritting her teeth, practically grinding them. He wondered if he knew her as well as he thought.

Ten minutes later, their clothes were scattered over the narrow space, except for one sock slung over the outside latch. Kara had turned wild as soon as the hatch was closed, digging her nails into his scalp as she pulled him in for a bruising kiss, biting down on his lower lip until he thought she'd draw blood. Her hand on his cock was equally aggressive, stroking harder than he liked.

"Come on, Lee. Get over here and frak me. Nothing fancy, okay?" She lay on her back and opened herself to him. "Just hard and fast, like it's our last chance." Her glare was as determined as it had been the first time she'd climbed into a Viper cockpit. Needle-sharp eyes with the look of destruction.

This was not the Kara he wanted to make love with. He wasn't even sure if this was the Kara he wanted to frak. Lee sat on the rack, resting his open hand on her stomach, and shook his head.

"What's up with you, babe? Is there some reason you're looking for a grudge-frak? What got you so pissed off?" He stroked down her belly, palm brushing over her curls. She slung her arm over her eyes but didn't push him away.

"Not pissed off. And you can keep doing that." She moved her hips, encouraging him to move down. He settled in, squirming until he was comfortable with his back against the bulkhead.

Once they'd gotten past the ghost of Zak (or at least felt like he'd have been okay with it) they'd started having sex. What they did couldn't quite be termed "making love," it was too rowdy and rough-and-tumble for that.

He used to wonder what might have happened if they'd frakked that night they stayed at Laura's place, standing guard. Kara had seemed softer that night, in a calmer place than usual, once they'd stretched out together on the couch. The next morning, though, she was back to her brash hard-ass self. Even becoming his Old Lady hadn't changed things much. Frakking was still a fun way to blow off steam, a way to feel good for both of them...but before the attacks, he had to admit he looked at his dad and step-mom with envious eyes, wishing he and Kara had a connection like that.

They did have this, though. He slipped a finger lower, dipping into the rich heat between her thighs. Her stomach tightened and he heard a soft "That's good" whispered just loud enough to hear.

Finally, she lowered her arm and met his gaze head-on. "We're good, Lee. It's all good. You gonna make me beg?" She wrapped her hand around his cock, her touch more gentle this time. "Please, Mr. Outlaw Vice-President, please frak me. I'd be so very honored."

He couldn't hold a straight face any longer than she could, and their snickers turned into full-bellied laughing as they rolled together in the narrow rack.

"As well you should be, Prospect." That got him a smack on the shoulder hard enough to sting. "Okay, okay...fully patched-in member. Ow!"

"I think when we're both naked I revert to 'Old Lady,' Lee."

"My Old Lady," he echoed, squeezing her thigh. _Wonder if this would feel different if we were married?_ The thought caught him by surprise but it felt...right. Strange,but right. Maybe he'd ask Laura if she any extra rings she could spare, if he ever figured out how to bring it up to Kara.

Their touches turned gentler, slow and languid, a pace that felt different-very different-but good. He took time to caress her neck, scatter light kisses over her collarbone, nuzzle the just-discovered sweet spot behind her left ear. Kara relaxed into him, no sign of her previous impatience. Then he was cupping her breasts, sucking and teasing until Kara's back was arching off the thin mattress.

The heat built between them again, bringing a touch of roughness to their love-making. When Kara came, she wrapped her legs and arms around him like she never wanted to let go. On the verge of his own orgasm, Lee had time for one surprised thought: _This is past frakking. This is making love._ Then everything melted into bliss-filled fireworks arcing up and down his spine, and he buried his face in the hollow of her neck.

Kara pulled away long enough to wrap herself in a towel and retrieve the sock off the hatch handle, then scooted back into the rack, drawing the curtains and curling up against him. He looked down: there was just enough light filtering in to show the soft, sweet look in her eyes. Something had opened her soul up beyond its usual reach, and Lee got the feeling that he'd gotten to know another layer of Kara "Starbuck" Thrace.

He wondered how many there were.

"So," he said as she put her head back down on his chest. "Gonna tell me what was up with you earlier?"

"You'll think it's stupid." She looked up at him, _push me on this_ in her eyes.

"Well, it's possible, but it's not like it'd be the first time." His grin took the snark out of his words. "I'm okay with some occasional stupid."

"Yeah...good thing." She snuggled a little more against him. He felt her chest press his as she drew in a deep breath.

"I'm okay with the whole pilot thing, Lee. For both of us. I get that we're all probably good as dead anyway, The Old Man gets us through one day, then the next, and one day he won't, or he will but we'll be out there in pieces somewhere. And I accept that, you know?"

He nodded against her hair. "Ride or die."

"Fight 'em 'til we can't," she affirmed, stiffening for a second, then relaxing again.

"And I know in my head that everything's gone, everybody's gone except a few pockets of survivors here and there. It's like this...big blob of sadness that I can shove to one side most of the time."

He thought of guys he'd grown up with, civilians who had trusted him and his dad with their cars (and more) over the years. He shut that thinking down before he started picturing their faces.

"Not so stupid, Kara."

"Haven't gotten to the stupid part yet." She sighed, breath warm against his skin.

"You had just said something about teeth, and I happened to look at the daily roster on the wall. And I saw the date." She laughed but it had a watery note. "It hit me that I was scheduled for a dental appointment today. You know, one of those six month in advance things? And I could see Dr. Keevey, and his assistant, and the receptionist, like they'd looked the last time I was there-" Kara broke off for a moment, drew a deep breath and continued.

"It's not even like I knew them personally or really liked them or anything. But I could just see the Gods painting a big black X over each of their faces." One hot tear hit his chest, and he could feel his own welling up. _Go away_ he told the multitude of faces scattered through his own memory. _We'll do this later. I swear._

"I just-it felt like all these individuals...not just whole planets, or cities, or frakking 'humanity,' but all these real, unique people were really gone. Really slaughtered. Murdered."

Her tears dried on his chest and he could feel the hot vengeance pouring off her now.

It was a good fit with his own.

"Kara, if we have to go out bloody-and we probably will-we're gonna take as many godsdamn toasters with us as we can. You and me. And we're gonna frak up their shit as much as we can before that happens."

"So say we all," she murmured at his ear. "We'll fight 'em 'til we can't. You and me."

The words stirred unexpected hope in his heart. They were together. And they had this day. Maybe they'd have more.

"I love you, Kara Thrace," he blurted.

Her fingers stroked his face. She made a couple of false starts and he guessed the words had never come easy for her. Finally she got them out.

"Love you, too, Lee Adama."

It was enough. It would last however long they had.

.

.

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Two weeks later, they repeated their words, this time in front of the priest Elosha, the rest of the Tauron Outlaws, Caprica City Charter looking on. The rings that had once been meant for Laura's sister shone bright against their skin.

"We'll fight 'em 'til we can't."

"Together."

In the midst of the congratulatory hugs from Bill, Laura and the rest, it hit Lee what had just happened. He wondered if it was stupid to get married in the middle of a genocide. Most people would probably say it was.

He looked at his new bride, his Old Lady, his fellow pilot, and grinned. When she returned it, he saw the brash 'ride or die' Kara was fully back.

"We're gonna frak some shit up before we go down, right, Mrs. Thrace-Adama?"

"Can't think of anyone in the universe I'd rather ride with, Mr. Thrace-Adama." A few more drinks and they headed back to their quarters.

A single sock was already dangling from the open hatch door, festooned with a few white ribbons and a torn-out page of a museum catalogue, "_Congratulations!_" scrawled in black marker.

Lee flipped the page over, hoping...there it was. Another message scrawled out: _Newlyweds-Do Not Disturb._ He completed the phrase in his mind. _Unless it's one of our shifts, or there's a Cylon sighting, or the CAG needs us to fly CAP, or…_

But none of those things were happening right this minute.

He watched Kara secure the sock and slam the hatch closed. "We've got a honeymoon to take care of," she said.

He sighed happily as she started stripping down to skin.

If marrying Kara was stupid, he didn't want to be smart.


End file.
